Join Susan as she obsesses about cosmetic chemistry and other things (some possibly related to monkeys). Often strange, occasionally useful, and always worth a stop as a point of interest on your journey through the Intertron.

Monday, June 20, 2011

Why did I buy that again? Cetearyl ethylhexanoate, decyl glucoside, phytokeratin, and esters

In the why did I buy that post (either this one or the other), I've noticed requests for ingredients for which I've already written posts. So here are a few posts you might have missed...

Decyl glucoside (click, and scroll down a bit) is a very mild non-ionic cleanser that works well as both a primary or secondary surfactant as it is a good foamer. It has an alkaline pH - 7 to 9.5 - so you'll have to bring your pH down with citric acid or another acidic ingredient to ensure it reaches the right pH for skin and hair. (Another data sheet states the pH is 11.5! EEK!) It is about 48% to 52% active ingredients in the surfactant, and the suggested use is 4% to 40%. This is a great ingredient for a conditioning shampoo or body wash as it improves the cationic conditioning in your products, as well as offer foam stabilization.

Phytokeratin is a proprietary blend of soy, corn, and wheat proteins designed to be the best of all worlds. It has elements with low molecular weight for penetrating skin and hair, and it offers substantivity and film forming through the higher molecular weight molecules. As with other proteins, it is water, glycerin, and alcohol soluble, so this is for products containing water - anhydrous products are right out! Include any proteins in your cool down phase at 1 to 5%. (Having said this, LabRat suggested putting in the heat and hold phase, so I'm going to suggest that as well.) Click on the link to learn more and see some sample recipes!

AquaEm is very much like Caprol Micro Express, and you can use it in the same way, as a solubilizer for oils into water soluble products.

I'm not sure why you bought rooibos tea for your products, but it is lovely to drink. (I'm currently enjoying a pot of praline champagne rooibos tea and it's very tasty!) I don't suggest using it in your products - please read this post - as it is really hard to preserve teas and infusions!

And Jackie asked about esters! If you click here and scroll down, you'll see all the posts on esters from this blog. Or you can click here to get to the start at the beginning of the series and click "newer post" to continue.

4 comments:

is decyl polyglucose and decyl glucoside the same thing? from my googling it seems to be. they are both from corn. one source called it decyl polyglucoside. makingcosmetics lists it as polyglucose and shows its inci as Decyl polyglucoside.

would you please clear up my confusion? if you mentioned these two as different, i missed it.

Hi Letitia. If you look to the right hand side of the blog, there are a few links in the FAQ section called where can I get supplies in... You might find a retailer near you carrying decyl glucoside. I get mine from Voyageur Soap & Candle in Canada.

As a note, why do you have (beets sugar) in brackets? Is that because it's made from sugar? I'm just curious.

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Who the heck is Swift?

I'm an aspiring cosmetic scientician and DIY girl interested in pretty much any craft you can name - bookbinding, jewellery making, sewing, paper crafts, polymer clay - but my main passion is bath & body product making.
I am currently obsessed with Rock Band (bass and singing) and science books. Did you know my favourite word is "toaster" and my favourite adjective is "hirsute"?